EIGHT is not commonly thought of as a number with any real story. It doesn’t have the primacy of the number one, nor the podium status of a two or three. It doesn’t have the perfection of six, it’s not considered lucky in our culture, like seven, nor does it sit at the apex of the decimal system like ten.

However, if we scratch the surface eight has some kudos. It is the number of wealth in Hinduism, the number of gates of heaven in Islam, and is a lucky number in China and Japan, also because of its mythological connection to prosperity.

And today I am going to make my case for the power of eight for Scottish unionism, a bedraggled concept which appears in slow decline. There should be no inevitability about this, however, and indeed I would suggest that they may find their own form of prosperity should they follow these eight simple rules.

1 - Understand where you are and why you’re there

In considering the narrative of last week’s visit by Boris Johnson, which was presumably pre-briefed by Downing Street, one would be forgiven for thinking that nobody in the Prime Minister’s operation has seen any of the news which has emanated from Scotland over the last 15 years. To suddenly be plunged into apparent ‘panic mode’ is to misunderstand unionism’s position. Unionism’s deficit has been coming for years. Indeed, far from being a resounding victory, it looks increasingly as though the 2014 referendum simply came early enough on the x-axis for unionism to survive. But unionism is not in the doldrums because of any irresistible pull-factor inherent in Scottish nationalism; rather, there is a significant push-factor involved. Unionism is stuck in an unappealing, perpetual panic, reacting to everything, offering nothing positive. SNP wins an election; unionists create the Calman Commission. Yes almost wins the referendum; unionists create the Vow and the Smith Commission. It is a humiliating lack of thought, understanding and planning all rolled into one.

2 - Be less emotional

I appreciate I am in the minority as someone who does not feel particularly nationalistic or patriotic, either towards Britain or Scotland, however unionists’ emotional, sometimes rather hysterical, obsession with ‘our precious union’ is preventing sensible decision making. Too many unionists exude the air of people who are confused and embittered that the general population doesn’t share their unrequited love. A more clinical approach, which is much more characteristic of nationalist leaders, would create the space for far more sensible decision making.

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3 - Stop visiting Scotland to ‘save the union’

This is a foolish endeavour for a number of reasons, but most obviously it underlines the fact that members of the Cabinet seldom come to Scotland, a part of the UK which they have just as much right to visit as anywhere else, including England. Cabinet visits would be far less controversial, more normal indeed, if they happened more often.

4 - Stop talking Scotland down

Unionists think this is a nationalist trope, but they are wrong: the tone of unionist communications is counterproductive and corrosive. Coronavirus has turbocharged the temptation to revert to this approach, and the notion that an independent Scotland could not have afforded furlough and a range of other measures is now a centrepiece of unionist messaging. It is, of course, nonsense, and while an independent Scotland would inevitably face uncertainty in its initial years, there is no reason to expect that it would not rapidly develop the ideological maturity to create a wealthy country.

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5 - Stop doing the nationalists’ work for them

A great deal of unionist action plays directly into the hands of nationalism. Because of the raw emotion (see rule one), Unionists tend to define victory as denying the SNP something that it wants, without understanding that this plays perfectly into the nationalist narrative. The prime example of this, which is coming at unionists like a herd of buffalo, is the current policy of saying no to a second independence referendum, even if it is secured with a majority of seats, perhaps even votes, on a clear manifesto commitment. Unionists may see this as a clever tactic which puts Nicola Sturgeon in a hole, but in the medium- to long-term it is an appalling strategy which pushes soft unionists, dismayed at the denial of democracy, to the other side.

6 - Get Brexit done

By default, we consider Brexit to push Scotland towards independence, but in fact a swift Brexit with a reasonable deal has a good chance of becoming a positive for unionism. I voted Remain, but despite this I expect the outcome of Brexit to be significantly less damaging than doomsayers predict, and this, coated in the toxic prospect of a customs border between Scotland and England should an independent Scotland rejoin the EU’s Customs Union, may well flip the Brexit issue from the nationalist column to the unionist one.

7 - Do more

For a group of people who are so ostensibly passionate about keeping Scotland in the union, the UK Government is prone to leaving the field of play empty for the Scottish Government to roam free. Scottish Secretary Alister Jack and his team appear to understand the pitfalls of this better than their predecessors, but much of the damage has been done. Unionists should be bolder about planting their flag on Scottish turf, including in devolved competencies, especially when they’ve paid for the flagpole – a practice which is considered normal in federal countries.

8 - Finally, it’s time for a New Union

Unionists are always chasing the curve; reacting, panicking, misstepping. They need to make a calm, clinical analysis of where the people of the nations of the UK want to be in 50 years, and create a positive, proactive vision of a New Unionism which takes us all there. It is, in my view, highly likely to involve both more muscular unionism (see rule seven) as well as an enhancement of devolved powers. They can call this federalism, or any other of the myriad terms people use for it – it is what it is. But whatever they call it, unionists should understand that New Unionism has a real chance of appealing to many of the soft centrists whom they have pushed towards nationalism. Without it, they will almost certainly lose the next independence referendum.

Andy Maciver is Director of Message Matters